Cold War Veterans Blog

Overdue Bronze Star is icing on the cake for Army vet, 94

Monday, August 11, 2008
BY SHARON ADARLO
Star-Ledger Staff

Since his discharge from the Army 63 years ago, Curtis Glenn of Cedar Grove remained hopeful he would one day receive the medals he earned during World War II. But those dreams seemed to go up in smoke after a fire in the 1970s destroyed a military records center.

Yesterday, at a surprise party to mark his 94th birthday, which is today, friends and family gathered around him as a Bronze Star was pinned to his chest for his service as a private first class in the 39th Infantry Division. Glenn sighed with emotion as his eyes became moist over the long-awaited honor.


"Oh my golly," said Glenn, who also received an Army Good Conduct Medal, an American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, a Combat Infantry Badge and a Presidential Unit Citation. "I knew I deserved it, but I never ex pected such a ceremony."

It's better now than later, said Donna Bailey, Glenn's step-daughter, who cut through bureaucratic red tape to finalize the war decorations a few weeks ago. "I was just happy they got here. I was thrilled to get them," she said.

While she was researching whether Glenn was eligible for veteran's benefits, she found a copy of his discharge papers with a list of his awards. Even though the original documents were destroyed, she managed to get Glenn's medals verified with a second source.

After the medals were shipped to her, Bailey helped organize the party in West Caldwell with her step-brother Peter Glenn and family friend Irene Putback, who lent her backyard. The local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter in Livingston presented the medals to Glenn during a short ceremony. He also received written praises from Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8th Dist.).

As he proudly wore his Bronze Star and cradled his other war decorations, Glenn regaled the party goers with stories of his time on the Western Front, particularly the Battle of the Bulge, one of the bloodiest conflicts during World War II. An estimated 80,000 people were killed, injured or captured during that winter of 1944.

In a bold move, Adolf Hitler had sent scores of German soldiers into the Western front but American troops held back the attack as they also battled harsh weather.

"I'm just a lucky person," Glenn said about why he escaped un harmed. What he remembers most was the cold and how he had very few socks that fit him. His feet are size 13, but the Army would only give him size 11 or 10. After the war, as he was being shipped back home, Glenn finally received dozens of socks his size.

"That's how sometimes the Army works," he said, chuckling.

After his discharge in 1945, Glenn settled in New Jersey with his wife and raised four children, said his eldest son, Peter. He worked for approximately 20 years at Bell Labs in Murray Hill as a chemical technician. After divorc ing his first wife, he married Joan Bailey and moved to Cedar Grove.

During his retirement, Glenn said he has kept busy by looking after his second wife, volunteering at the American Museum of Natural History, and adding stamps and minerals to his vast collections.

Now, Glenn also has a medal collection to look after.